Measured by the NCREIF Farmland Returns Index, farmland handily beats the S&P 500 over the past ten years. Negative quarters for farmland are rare, making investments far less volatile than stocks.

Like other alternative investments, farmland is attractive, because it "doesn't correlate with equities,” says Roger Nusbaum, chief investment officer at Your Source Financial in Phoenix.

There's also a current-events component to the investment equation.

Global demand for commodities is strong and from time to time leads to tight supplies. Healthier—and, so to speak, wealthier—diets in emerging nations, especially China, a heavy importer—means more demand for U.S. grainsand, by extension, farmland.

So, investors are snapping up arable land here and overseas, from Russia to Africa to South America.

“It’s not the first inning of the game, It’s not the eighth inning either," says Shonda Warner, managing partner at Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners, which specializes in pension funds and wealthy investors and owns over 40,000 acres in the U.S. "Farmland prices do move slower than commodity prices.”

Limited Stock Plays

Finding suitable investment vehicles, especially in the U.S., is not as easy as one might think. There are surprisingly few vehicles and are mainly aimed at wealthy investors.

“Not too many vehicles offer pure exposure,” says Nusbaum.

Nusbaum, for instance, recommends a slew of smaller, international companies. One popular play—and the easiest to trade—is Argentina- based Cresud. It owns 1.28 million acres of land where it produces grains, beef, milk and other products.

“Cresud isn’t a secret,” says Nusbaum. “But it has a lot of farmland in several South American countries.”

New Britain Palm Oil Limited is another option. It owns New Guinea’s largest palm oil plantations. “Palm oil is a base element in all kinds of manufacturing,” adds Nusbaum.

Warner warns investors to beware of “valuations in securities overseas,” though. “There’s a lot of danger for small town investors,” she adds.

Finding Farmland investments in the U.S. is tough. “Placing tens of millions of dollars in farmland is difficult here,” says Glenn Kreuder, principal at Agrinuity, a farmland investment consultant. “Investments are partially limited by the states.”

Alternative investing may not be for everyone, but there's an entry point for almost anyone—and as popular cable TV programs illustrate every week, small fortunes can be found in attics, basements and, yes, storage rooms.